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ReapTheChaos Sandbox 4
---- This guide outlines a standard of clean, consistent formatting for article writing on this wiki. A more expansive set of style guidelines can be found on Wikipedia at Manual of Style. The Mafia wiki strongly urges all its editors to use source mode when editing. The visual editor works fine for making minor text edits, but it's really poor at doing much else, in most cases it ends up doing more harm than good. To set source editing as your default, hover your cursor over your avatar at the very top of any page (right between the search bar and the little bell). Click on "My Preference", then the editing tab and it's the first drop down menu. Creating an Article There are multiple ways to create an article, you can click the "add a page" link under contribute, use a create box like the one below, type the article name into the url bar or simply click on a Red Link on another page. We also have a Page Creation Tool that you can use if choose. width=24 break=no buttonlabel=Create new article align=left Naming the Article Do not create an article if you're unsure what its full name should be. All words of the name should be capitalized with the exception of minor words, which include a, an, and, for, if, in, of, on, or, the, to. The names of character articles should be what's most commonly used in the game. If they're called Bill Johnson, that's what the article's name should be, not William Johnson. If William is mentioned as their proper name elsewhere in the game, that can be listed in the infobox under "Full Name". If they also go by a nickname, that should be listed in the infobox under "Aliases". *Under most circumstances, unnamed characters do not require their own article. You shouldn't create articles with titles such as "Bartender", "Bill Johnson's Limo Driver" or "Unnamed Assassin". In the rare event that an unnamed character page is created, it will be done after a community discussion where a proper name is selected. *Not all named characters require their own article either. If all you have is one or two sentences worth of information to write about them, chances are they're to insignificant to have their own article. Find an appropriate article to add their name and information to and leave it at that. Businesses should be the full name as it appears in the game. Do not add words like restaurant, bar, club, gun store, etc. to the name unless it's listed that way in game. Weapons should be what's listed in the game menu. If it's listed simply as a "Shotgun" then that is the proper name: no assumptions on brand, make or model should be included. Vehicles should be named as their make followed by their model, such as Smith Thunderbolt. Insignificant items such as food and beverages may be included in the same article from previous games as long as they're placed under their own heading. In the event of an item that appears in two games, such as if Mafia III uses the same weapon or vehicle names as Mafia II, then the original article should be renamed and a disambiguation page should be created. Our article on Disambiguation will explain the process in detail. Real World Places or Events Linking to a Wikipedia article on real world information, like the Vietnam War, is preferable to creating one here; simply link to it in the article using the format Wikipedia:Vietnam War. Writing an Article To take the guesswork When you first create your article take a look above the edit box on your new page and you will see links to all the page types listed there. Simply click the one you need and the infobox, section headers and image gallery will be automatically added, all you need to do is start typing. Once your article has been named and created, you need to begin adding content. While some page formats may differ slightly, the information below is listed in order of how they should be placed in most articles. Adding an Infobox *The first item to be added should be the appropriate infobox. We have infobox templates for the most common types of articles here. If one isn't available for the type of article you're creating, don't try to make a different one work, ask an admin and one will be created for that purpose. Quotes *After the infobox is where you place a quote if one is used. To add a quote, use this template . *Only add one quote per character article. In the case of major characters, what quote to use will be based on a community consensus or vote. *Not all characters need a quote. If they only have a handful of lines in the game, chances are they've said nothing worth quoting. Lead Section *Unless an article is very short, it should start with an introductory lead section. Before the first subheading, the lead section should not contain a header. The table of contents, if displayed, appears after the lead section and before the first subheading. *The lead should be capable of standing alone as a concise overview of the article, establishing context, and explaining why the subject is interesting or notable. It should be between one or two paragraphs long and should be written in a clear and accessible style so that the reader is encouraged to read the rest of the article. *The lead typically starts off with the article name in bold, as in "Bill Johnson is an associate in the..." or "The Smith Thunderbolt is a vehicle in Mafia II..." The Article Body *All articles should be written in American English, exceptions being quotes which misspell words, foreign language used in the game or proper nouns such as titles or names. There are translations of this wiki in several languages, these can be found at the bottom of the main page. *Communicating an idea on the page is more difficult than speaking with someone face to face. When speaking to someone their body language will reveal if they're understanding you or not. Unfortunately, you don't have that when writing. This is why proper grammar is so important; writing an article using our daily speech habits will usually end in failure. *Articles should be written as if they were about historical events, real people, or objects that actually exist. We do offer suggestions and walkthroughs for missions; however, this process should not blatantly interfere with the historical tone of an article. *An article must flow smoothly from one sentence to the next and make a logical transition between topics. If you're writing about a person, start with their earliest history and work your way forward chronologically. *Articles should be written in third person perspective and never in first or second person (the exceptions being in walkthroughs, where the latter is permitted). *Titles such as don or capo start with a capital letter when used as a title (followed by a name): "Don Morello", not "don Morello". When used generically, they should be in lower case: "Sergio is a great underboss." The correct formal name of an office is treated as a proper noun. Hence: "Frank Colletti is the Consigliere of the Salieri crime family" **Avoid being overly descriptive when using names and titles. For example, a sentence like "To start the mission, drive to Vinci Caporegime Derek Pappalardo's office..." makes for very awkward reading. There's no need to list a person's full name, rank, and affiliation in most cases, their main article is where specific details like that belong. *Character articles, especially those of the protagonist and major characters, should not recap everything they do in the entire game. Individual mission articles are where those events should be spelled out in detail, a brief mention of significant events is all that's necessary. Trivial Information *Not to be confused with trivia entries, trivial information is minor elements of gameplay that are insignificant to the article and the average reader. While we strive to provide relevant information on our pages, we also like to keep them brief and on point. Some of the more minor aspects of the game are better left for the players to experience themselves. We ask that you respect that and not fill our articles with every little detail and nuance on its subject. Longer is not always better, the only thing you accomplish with an overly detailed and lengthy article is insuring that fewer people will likely read it. Appearances section *After the main body, articles such as location and businesses should have an appearances section. This is where you add references to missions that take place or involve that location. Keep in mind that you shouldn't mention minor events like simply driving through a neighborhood or mere mentions of a location in missions. Keep the mentions brief, the mission page itself is where you should go into details, it suffices to simply mention the appearance, such as "The mission Balls and Beans takes place at this location". Adding Links *To add a link to an article, use the format Article Name Here. Any page should only be linked once in any given article and should typically be the first time they're mentioned. *As our articles names use capitalization for major words, you may need to make a piped link when capitalization would be inappropriate. When this is necessary use the format article name here, substituting lower case letters where needed. **This format should also be used to link names when their full name is not appropriate, such as Vito or when making a word plural as in soldatos. *Don't over saturate any sentence or paragraph with links, if a section is showing up as mostly blue on the page, consider removing some of the less important ones. Always avoid placing multiple links in succession. Adding Images *When uploading an image, give it a name that's descriptive of its subject such as "Smith Thunderbolt". If the name is already taken, feel free to add something else to the file name to set it apart, but under no circumstances should you upload images using the default file names from screen grab software such as dates or a random string of numbers; these files will be removed. *Only upload images with the .png or .jpg format. *Only upload images you created yourself. Images that contain copyright or watermarks will be removed. *Only upload images you plan to use. Images not linked to an article or profile will be subject to removal after 3 days. *For an in depth tutorial on proper uploading and usage of media on the Mafia Wiki, see our Media Policy page. Adding Video *The only videos authorized on the Mafia Wiki are game trailers and other official video content from the game publishers. No walkthrough, music or other personal videos are to be uploaded or linked on any page, including profiles, without permission from Mafia Wiki admins. Adding Audio *Audio found within the game files, be it dialogue, music or sound effects, is considered copyrighted material and is therefore not authorized on this wiki. Trivia Entries *The Mafia wiki is not an indiscriminate collection of trivial factoids, pieces of trivia related to the Mafia games are boundless, but not necessarily helpful. Use careful consideration on what you add to these sections. *Trivia entries should be kept to a bare minimum, be no more than one or two lines long, and only include relevant information not appropriate for the article itself. *Items worthy of mentioning should be of general interest to all readers, relate to the game itself and should never contain speculation or opinions. *Trivia entries are one of the more abused sections of an article. Left unchecked, they quickly become disorganised and distract from the article rather than improve it. Don't take it personal if your trivia entry is removed or edited. Adding a Gallery *Most articles benefit from a gallery rather than posting excessive images throughout the article itself. When creating a gallery, more than two pictures should use the slideshow option and be the last thing in the article. For the sake of uniformity, all slideshows should use a width of 300 and be positioned to the left. Spoilers *This wiki is about the Mafia series of games; by it's very definition this whole wiki is a spoiler. Do not add phrases like "spoiler alert" or keep information out of an article because it may spoil the plot for the reader. Citations *As a general rule, we do not require citations for information written in our articles. That being said, all information should come from the game itself or through official material released by the publisher. Speculation, conjectures, and personal opinions have no place in an article. *Cut content and information from beta and demo versions that didn't make it into the game should be clearly labeled as such and placed in the trivia section or the cut content page. External Links *The only external linking we typically allow is Wikipedia. The only exceptions would be on voice actor and musician articles where you may also include their IMDB page and personal website in the infobox. Categories *Only choose from existing categories. If you feel a new category should be created, ask an admin or make a post on the forum stating your reasoning and it will be discussed by the community. There is a list of all categories here: Writing a Walkthrough Another kind of article found on the Mafia Wiki is a walkthrough. A walkthrough is an instructional account of how to proceed through a given mission in the game. Because these types of articles can be highly subjective and opinionated in nature, all walkthroughs require approval from site admins before they get published. *They should be written from a second person point of view. If you're unfamiliar with point of view, here are some basic examples. **First person: Once I enter the warehouse, I take out all the goons on the first floor. **Second person: Once you enter the warehouse, take out all the goons on the first floor. **Third person: Once Vito enters the warehouse, he takes out all the goons on the first floor. *Walkthroughs should be written in a clear and concise manner and be free of gaming lingo, slang or netspeak. They should be brief and to the point at all times and serve as an abbreviated guide rather than a step by step tutorial. Example of a bad walkthrough: *As you enter the warehouse, take cover behind the second pillar on the right, pull out your AK-47 and kill the three goons by the first set of crates. Once they're dead, move to the left and take cover by the forklift. Toss a grenade down the hallway on the left to kill the goon walking toward you from there and then switch to your sniper rifle and zoom in on the back right corner and take out the four goons standing back there. Once all the goons on the first floor are dead, make sure to pick up extra ammo and grenades off them, then proceed to the stairway and go to the second floor where a cutscene will play... **What makes this a bad walkthrough is it's overly detailed and opinionated. Things like what weapon to use or the best place to take cover are more a matter of personal play style, so unless a mission requires you to use a specific weapon or shoot from a particular place, leave those decisions up to the player. Restocking your ammo is common in most games so adding details like that only imply that the reader wouldn't think to do it on their own. Example of a good walkthrough: *Enter the warehouse and make your way through the first floor, taking cover and killing the goons as you go, then take the stairs to the second floor where a cutscene will play... **This gives you all the information in a simple and concise manner without a lot of unnecessary details. This allows the reader to get the basics of what needs to be done and get back to their game quickly. Editing an Article Following the above guidelines will not ensure a perfect article the first time, but it will give the article a strong skeleton. It's ultimately your job as an editor to put meat on it. Every article can be improved (even this one). When editing an article it's important to know your subject and have a plan. *Before you add something to an article, make sure that information isn't already on the page somewhere else or there isn't another article where it's better suited. You should never edit an article that you haven't completely read. *Insure your edits don't interrupt the flow of the article. Jumping from one idea to the next will only confuse the reader so always proofread the entire section you're editing before you hit submit to make sure all the ideas still flow together. *When you edit an article, even if it's just a small edit or to undo a previous one, place a brief statement in the "Edit summary" box explaining your changes. This can help other users understand why you made the changes and prevent confusion. *We all have our own style; if every author wrote in exactly the same way it would be boring. Keep that in mind before you make an edit. Rephrasing a sentence or paragraph simply because you think it sounds better written your way is greatly discouraged. Conclusion We've tried to give you all the basics here, but there's always more information than can be covered in a single article. pages contain a wealth of information on just about every conceivable topic, including the more technical aspects of editing. That being said, sometimes the best method of learning is to just look around at other pages and see how it's been done before. Of course, if you're stuck and simply can't figure something out, feel free to ask one of our staff. We have plenty of experienced people so we should be able to answer just about any question you have. See Also *Guidelines and Policies *Media Policies *Disambiguation *Using Templates Category:Policy Category:Site Administration Category:Mafia II